2013 and earlier-Subaru Legacy Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Alright a follow up. I ended up not using my VIP Price. I did not want to name dealerships initially but I will now that I have my car purchased.

I went to Carr Subaru first in Oregon who quoted me for a limited model $25,800 VIP price. Which was higher than others.

Wentworth quoted me $25,400 for a limited model with no moon roof VIP price. But they had two Limited models with a moonroof for $25,075 in twilight blue and $25,575 in ice silver on sale. I wanted the silver but for the price of the twilight blue. He said no and it was a price error but he'll have to give it to me (blue one)mfor that price. Which is [non-permissible content removed] because they've had it posted at that price for two weeks and when I came back 5 days later. Which when I went back later I asked for a printed invoice price for the VIP and non VIP prices. He never gave it to me and I was not gonna keep asking after asking twice for it. Anyways I got tired of car shopping honestly so I thought I would just pay the $500 extra for the silver one, made an appointment to go in Saturday to buy it. Until....

Capitol Subaru offered me a better price ($219 cheaper) in the color I wanted, ice silver. I also saved $100 fees not buying in Portland and in Salem. So I ended up paying $25,356 + Fees for my 2013 Legacy Limited w/moonroof. I did not use the VIP because well it's December and they wanted to get rid of as many cars as possible. The salesman was incredibly honest with me and extremely helpful. Eric was the guy who helped us and I'd recommend him to anyone shopping around the area. My aunt who was there almost bought a car herself if she had not just bought a rav4 the month prior. Anyways I got 72 month at 2.9% financing ^_^

Just a word about Fitzgerald Subaru in Gaithersburg MD. I have dealt with businesses that lack integrity, but in my experience with Fitzgerald they win the sleazy dealer award. After several calls and emails negotiating the price of a car, they hit me with a "Processing fee" of $199, a "Tag and title fee" of $732.56 and a "tax" of $186. As I do not live in Maryland, there was no tax on the vehicle. They then told me that "all dealers must charge a tax and title fee by law." That is pure BS. It became apparent that their price advantage of $300 was actually a price of more than $800 over the best offer. If you look at the positive posts about Fitzgerald, they all use similar language (e.g., "rock bottom price") which makes me believe they are planted messages.

Hey guys, just wanted to know how I did? I purchased on 12-31-12 a 2013 Subaru Legacy premium all weather which options include... Spoiler,compass/auto dim/home link rear view mirror, splash gaurds, trunk cargo net, cargo tray, windshield wiper de-icer, heated seats, exterior heated mirrors, for 21,400 which included all fees and docs from dealer, (tax is $1600) out the door price with tax was $23,000. The dealer also included all weather floor Mats as well. What kind of deal did I get? He told me that was rock bottom and the lowest he could go. The MSRP sticker price was $25,143. Thanks guys!! Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy New Years

I bought a 2013 Legacy Premium with the all weather package, mud flaps, trunk cargo caddy, all weather mats, for $21,200 at Van Bortel Subaru in Rochester, NY. They have a $1,000 below dealer price until January 2, 2013. I had a bit of trouble with my trade in, but the owner took over from the used car manager (who cost them my business last year), and I think I got an acceptable trade-in. As another poster commented, I used Fitzgerald Subaru as a comparitor but also found at the last minute that they are not straight with buyers (an $800 tax and tile fee at the very last second was added). This is the second vehicle I bought from Van Bortel and I like them very much. Their service department is excellent and they make it almost fun to go in for service.

Hey guys, just wanted to know how I did? I purchased on 12-31-12 a 2013 Subaru Legacy premium all weather which options include... Spoiler,compass/auto dim/home link rear view mirror, splash gaurds, trunk cargo net, cargo tray, windshield wiper de-icer, heated seats, exterior heated mirrors, for 21,400 which included all fees and docs from dealer, (tax is $1600) out the door price with tax was $23,000. The dealer also included all weather floor Mats as well. What kind of deal did I get? He told me that was rock bottom and the lowest he could go. The MSRP sticker price was $25,143. Thanks guys!! Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy New Years

Is 24.5K a good deal for a Legacy 2.5 Premium with all-weather package, which includes heated seats, and a sunroof? This price includes all dealer fees and vehicle taxes. This is the best price I could find in the Boston area. Should I keep looking?

HI all, I've been doing sooo much research as we are getting ready to purchase our 1st Subaru Legacy. Specifically, I'm looking at the 2013 2.5i base model. My best out the door price is $20,500. That includes everything (VA taxes, title, and dealer fees). I feel like this is about the best I will do. Others who have a 2013 basic....is this a good deal. The MSRP is: 22,405 and remember the $20,500 is out the door. I think I should pull the trigger. Thoughts? Affirmations?

Ateixeira,It does include taxes and all. I do have it in writing to confirm it is taxes, title, and dealer fees. This dealer is about 1.5 hours away. While I am willing to travel, I do hope to get my local dealer to beat, or the very least, match this price. Sounds like this is a good price.

I am looking to buy a 2003 Legacy L with standard trans. The car only has 68000 miles on it and the price seemed to be right, around $6750 from an apparently reliable private party. But when we took it in to the dealer for inspection it turned out that there is a problem with the head. Not sure if there was also a leak or if that is related to the head. Estimated cost for repair, including the timing belt (which the owner says he just recently replaced, so I expect the part can be reused) is $2500. Dealer said that he was figuring conservatively, that was probably at the high end of possibilities. Present owner said he would cover cost of repair from the dealer. Since I am not familiar with Subarus I am seeking advice. Does the repair that needs to be done suggest this is a risky car (a headache waiting to happen); and is $6750 minus the cost of repairs ($4250 if the repair costs $2500) a decent deal? do you think that I will be able to trust this car to 200,000 miles if the repair is done well and it is maintianed properly? What i need is highly serviceable and relative headache free trasnportation.

Let me tell you about my 2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5 Special Edition - the car the sales folks swore in 2006 would outlast any Honda.

At 135K miles, that car developed a leaking head gasket. Didn't quite have the funds ($2K) to fix it. Now the engine is dead.

...Then there are the three wheel bearings I had to replace during the life of that car. Was it just how I drove? Hm. I am quite the careful driver, but don't believe me. How many hundreds of complaints can you find in your Google searches of "Subaru head gasket" and "Subaru wheel bearing"?

The car does drive very nice for an affordable midsize sedan. In the winter, it is golden. But, unless you have patience, time and money to sink into this piece of metal, you might want to consider other brands too. And the 2003 model is smack in the middle of Subaru's reliability issues - that's why that car is selling for so little!

Just know that you are buying trouble. Fun trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

True. I can't refute your argument. Hondas did have a reputation for transmission problems. I myself drove a Honda Odissey van whose ultimate demise was a slipping transmission. It cost 2K to fix it.

Engines and transmissions are sacred. I see evidence that Honda addressed its transmission problems. Two brothers and my mother drive Honda accords, two with high mileage. No transmission issues.

With Subarus, the story is different. I don't even know that many Subaru drivers, yet two of them have personal accounts of leaking head gaskets - as do I. The problem is that this issue first came to light nearly 15 years ago. Subaru claimed to have fixed the issue in models after 05 - yet that is not true. My 07 Legacy suffered from exactly the same issue 03 drivers complained about.

Honda is not perfect. But it is more trustworthy. Every brand has its issues, but I have more confidence that Honda has made strides to address theirs. Subaru seems to be clueless.

My concern now, with the Accord for instance, is this is Honda's first foray in to CVTs and also their first try with DI engines. Kind of a risky gamble, a v1.0 of both the engine and trans.

Subaru's FB25 was a big improvement, but their CVT is also kinda new, so another risk.

The EJ was an open deck design and has a lot of passages through the gaskets. It took a full redesign to address that 100%. The gasket materials improved over the years so the issues became less frequent, but never completely disappeared.

To be fair Dodge Intrepid ate gaskets at a higher rate than Subarus did.

The Honda that the Legacy i inquired about is replacing is now 20 years old. it has 239,000 miles on it. I had to replace the transhission at around 135,000 miles. The cost was around $1200 back then (i found a great deal on a transmission from Japan). It has been fine ever since.

By the way, I also have a 2003 Camry and had to replace the catalytic converter. Cost of around $800; not of the magnitude of the trasnsmision or the head; but still an important part. It has been fine and now has 185000 miles and is going strong. But the head and the tranny are really important and I imagine can make your life miserable; thus the question if a repair job typically is effective. If the repair has a good possibility of being as successful as the repair of my Honda's trasnmission, with 68000 miles and a fair price (apparently not great but not bad either) it is my kind of car.

So I'm in the market for a new 2014 Subaru Legacy Limited and like most people here, I would like to get an incredible deal. But here's my quandary: I'm very particular about the trim level, interior and exterior colors I want. I've searched through the dealers' inventories in my area and there's nothing to my liking. However, I have found the car I like at a dealer that's about 200 miles away in the next state over. I'm not exactly in a rush to buy but the more I look, the more I want it now! LOL

Here's my options as I see them:1) Contact my local Subaru dealer and have them do a nationwide inventory search for the vehicle I want. I fear that this may cost me some negotiating power as well as the expense of transporting the vehicle.2) Contact the Subaru dealer in the next state that has the car I want. But how complicated is tax, title, etc. when doing this, especially if I'm offloading a trade?3) Wait around a couple of months and see if the car I want appears in local inventory. Ideally I would do this and hope that I can find what I'm looking for at the end of the year when dealers want to move inventory and are eager to deal. But that's leaving a lot to chance.

1) It's impossible to say how much a dealer trade hurts your negotiating power, but it does take a bit of time and costs money to trade vehicles between dealers. The fact that the car is at a store located 200 miles away makes it worse, in that your local dealer probably does not regularly trade with this other dealer, so there is no business relationship. Plus, sending a guy or a couple of guys is not insignificant, in that the trip is probably 3-4 hours each way. One way or another, you will have to pay for all of that.

2) It's no problem to buy a car in another state. When you are doing the paperwork, you list your home address. You actually pay taxes and title the vehicle in your own state, not the state where you buy the car. I wouldn't worry about this factor. The trade-in is another story, in that you will have four hours invested in going to the dealership. What if they don't make an offer on your trade-in that you like? Will you still buy the new car and then sell your old one on your own? Drive home without the new car you like? I wouldn't drive four hours without firmly nailing down the price of the new car, and also getting a pretty darn good idea of the trade-in value. Final trade-in will, of course, depend on the dealer inspecting your car.

3) If you really are in no hurry, and can get to a price you like, have your local dealer order a car from the factory. I ordered a 2011 Legacy LTD just the way I wanted it, and got it in about 6 weeks, if I recall (back in late 2011). I didn't pay any more than what my dealer was willing to sell me one on the lot. Right now is probably not a great time to order a car, if Subaru closes their factories in July to switch model years. But I don't know that to be true regarding the Legacy. I don't know when they switch model year production.

Took delivery of a 2014 Legacy last night. Premium w/ moonroof pkg + all weather floor mats, spoiler, splash guards. MSRP is $26162 and got it for $23000 + TTL. For some reason this dealer is selling their 2014 legacys a good $2000~$3000 below MSRP.